21 I love you!

Her name, the girl with silver white hair, was Shiro.

Shiro was Karma's other half, his twin. However, although the two were twins, they were completely different. She was kind, generous, attentive, capable while Karma was rash, stubborn, and an overall annoyance to everyone around him. With Karma being born with nothing, Shiro was born with the one thing Karma desired: power.

Even so, not once did Shiro treat Karma as anything less than human. Whether he was a cripple or the magic king, it did not matter to her. After all, he was her one and only brother.

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Karma's mother looked out through the window. It was a windy night and the dark clouds hinted at a downpour soon to come. Yet Karma was still not home.

As she continued to cook, she worryingly asked herself, "Whatever could he be doing at this hour?"

Meanwhile, Karma's father read the newspaper pertaining updates on the great holy war. A war lasting over 100 years for a single purpose. To acquire the "last key."

Sometime before the war started, it was said that the person who acquires the last key will one day become someone with the power to shape the very framework of the world.

How does one acquire it?

They need to meet one simple requirement.

In order to receive the power to shape the world, one must show true strength before the "All Seeing Eye".

Once this strength is shown, the key will reveal itself on its own accord to that who is worthy.

And thus, with only this one requirement, the great holy war began.

Now, 100 years later, it seems as though the war will soon come to a close. Eight of the 10 families have surrendered and the only ones remaining are the Ha family and the Khun family.

"The last battle happened only five towns over…"

He let out a long sigh as he placed the newspaper down. "Reading these only add to my stress."

Looking over to his wife, he asked, "Are you almost done? I'm extremely hungry."

"Just be patient."

"Patience? Never heard of the word," he responded jokingly. "I'll have you know I have the 'if I don't get food in 10 more minutes then I will die' disease."

"Yes, yes, of course you do. I guess you'll be dead before I finish then. Maybe I should just stop."

"Y- you're so cruel," he responded as his eyes turned into puppy dog eyes. "I'm sorry, I'll wait quietly now…"

"Thank you. More importantly, Karma still isn't home yet. With the war still going on, and him being… you know, I worry a lot. Far too much actually."

"Well, I feel the same. I mean, it's only natural and father and mother. But we can't shelter him too much or he'll never survive in this world."

"Yes, I know but still…"

"Alright then, if you're still worried then…"

The door clicked and entered Shiro.

"Speak of the devil," Karma's father commented. "Can you go get Karma. Neither of us knows where he is and since you two are so close, I thought it'd be easier for you to find him.

Shiro gave a warm smile and with no hesitation said, "of course!"

Afterward, she exited the house going to the only place Karma could be: the elder tree.

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Karma was seen laying on the ground, eyes closed, in a completely relaxed state.

*drip*

The water droplets caused him to open his eyes. Before him, stood his sister, completely wet from top to bottom. "Idiot… how'd you get so wet?"

"Hehe… it was raining," she replied happily. "Mom and dad asked me to come get you so I came here as fast as I could but halfway through it started to rain heavily."

"Couldn't you have taken shelter under nearby houses or merchant shops?"

"Of course but then it would take longer to see you so I decided not to."

Her smile was beaming, Karma thought as his eyes became fixed on her.

"Jeez, why are you like this? You should be more worried about your own well being."

"Isn't it obvious?" She replied as her smile grew larger, teeth showing. "My little brother needs a strong older sis to protect him!"

"You're older by like a couple of seconds…"

"Still means I'm older and anyways that was only one of the reasons. The main one is because I love you!"

It was those words again. Those three words that Karma would hear daily without fail. To others, he was seen as useless baggage. The extra. The failure who should've never been born. When compared to his sister, his existence was irrelevant. But to her, his existence held value. No... more than that, she gave him value.

"How'd you know I was here?"

"Because whenever you're down, you always come here to rest. And whenever that happens, I always come here to cheer you up… So what's the problem this time? Your sis will listen to everything you say!"

Karma looked at Shiro directly, thinking long and hard. His thoughts were jumbled, and he was filled with doubt. Not of the words she said, but about himself.

"I've always wondered why you treat me so kindly. Even though I'm… even though I'm crippled, why do you still treat me the same when everyone else sees me as scum…"

Upon hearing this, Shiro immediately responded with, "Who hurt you? Just tell me the name and I'll show them what happens when you belittle my younger brother!"

"No, you don't get it sis. All my life, I've had you protect me. I've had you take care of me. I've had you do everything in your power to help me in some way because I, myself, don't have any power. But not once did you complain. You always willingly endured it all for my sake. But… But… I could never do anything to help you. Sis, do you see me as a burden!? If so, I don't want you to suffer. It's okay if you don't want to deal with me. I want you to smile, laugh, and enjoy yourself. I don't mind being a stepping stone if it means your happiness. You always tell me you love me and although I don't always say it back, I genuinely love you too! And that's why I don't want to drag you down..."

A small period of silence passes as Shiro looks at Karma blankly.

"Karma," she said with a slight grin. She picked up a couple rocks and then extended her hand. "Here, take some."

"Huh? What are you doing? What about my question?"

"Just shut up and take some."

Karma quickly gave in and took some rocks out of her hand.

"Now follow me," Shiro ordered while taking hold of Karma's free hand. Together, they walked to a nearby riverside and sat down below a tree.

"What do you see in front of you Karma?"

"Water. Lots of it."

"Yea… Isn't it beautiful? A river so vast, so beautiful and so wondrous that you could see the stars reflecting on them. You know, just like you go to the elder tree when you're upset, I go here when I feel the same. Looking at the river calms me. It makes me want to let the air take me wherever. But when I am really frustrated, simply looking at the river doesn't help. Rather it makes me feel uneasy. Because when not just me, but everyone is really mad, they want to take it out on something. And do you know what I do when that happens?"

"What?"

"I throw rocks. I throw them as hard as I can to the point where even my arms feel as though they might fall off. And then I see those rocks jump across the river like a bunny jumping across land… Those rocks you took. Throw them. Let's see who can get the furthest, hehe!"

"Whaaa…"

"Just trust me on this."

"... Alright if you say so."

Karma took a throwing stance and launched his first rock into the river.

Three hops.

"Good for a first attempt but you can't beat me with such pitiful motivation."

Shiro, then, did the same as Karma and launched her rock while yelling, "Ahhhhhhhh!"

Five hops.

"Muahahaha," she exclaimed. "I won round one! But don't worry we can go again! As a side note, you may not believe me but there's actually a secret tactic to this. The louder you shout and the more emotions you put into it, the further you throw will be!"

Once again, they threw their rocks. This time both yelled as loud as they could.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

"Ahhhhhhhh!"

Karma: Eight hops

Shiro: Seven hops

"Yes!!! I won. It actually worked," Karma cried out.

"Told ya. You happened to yell louder that time and won."

Karma looked over to Shiro once again. The smile on her face took away all his worries. She wasn't faking, nor was she forcing herself to play with him. All of it was genuine.

"Was this your goal? To make me vent on the poor river."

"If you put it like that, it makes me feel like a villain attacking river-kun."

"I'm just joking… Thanks. This surprisingly helped."

"I'm glad it did! Here come, let's rest for a bit."

The two laid down beside one another.

"Hey Karma, I'm sorry if I did something to make you think you were a burden. But truthfully, I've never seen you that way. I've only seen you as my little brother."

"Once again, only by a couple of seconds."

"Yes, yes. I know."

The two each let out a light chuckle.

"Karma... earlier you said you wanted to see me happy. But your happiness is my happiness. So how can I ever be happy if you're not, idiot? I love you and the reason is simple. You're my brother. No matter what circumstances you have. No matter what worlds we live in. And no matter how different we may be, you'll always be my only little brother. A brother I love very dearly."

The warmth in her words made Karma feel as though he was put in a trance. This moment was one that Karma could relive for eternity.

"Well, we gotta get back now. Don't wanna keep mom and dad waiting too long. Especially mom. She's been worried sick about you so make sure you say sorry!"

"Yea I promise!"